* * * UPDATE * * * *
Following publication of the bulletin below, the company confirmed that it will not be contact tracing exposure events between one or multiple workers. This was not the Union’s understanding based on multiple meetings and only furthers its disappointment in how this issue is being handled by the company.
Please consult the company bulletin issued on 11NOV21.
The Union has taken the time to review the changes to contact tracing, especially in light of this most recent development, and is of the opinion that it amounts to a breach of the employer’s responsibilities under provisions of the Canada Labour Code Part II as well as the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. Consequently, your representatives are in process of filing a complaint to the employer.
As always, it is imperative that you, the members, voice any health and safety concerns with the company by means of a health and safety complaint e-report.
The Union’s bulletin on reporting can be consulted HERE.
The Union’s FAQ bulletin on reporting can be consulted HERE.
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Coronavirus Update 41
Dear members,
IT IS YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW ABOUT HAZARDS IN THE WORKPLACE. THIS INCLUDES HOW YOU HAVE BEEN EXPOSED AND TO WHAT DEGREE. THE COMPANY HAS AN OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE INFORMATION NECESSARY TO SEEK APPROPRIATE MEDICAL CARE.
On November 15th the company will make significant changes to its internal contact tracing program.
Neither the employee representatives on the various health and safety committees nor your elected representatives have agreed to these changes. Health and safety committee minutes will reflect this.
- The program now becomes self-serve. It will be up to you, the employee, to consult the company’s monitoring portal to know if you have had an exposure with a third-party in the workplace.
- You will no longer know the degree of exposure. No one will call you and ask questions from the decision tree that the Union collaborated on in the joint interest of ensuring your safety. This is important since knowing the degree of exposure could affect medical assessments should you fall ill.
- The company will no longer be providing notifications to the Union. This means it will be more difficult and take longer for the Union to contact its members.
The employer will continue to contact trace exposure events between one or multiple workers.
THE UNION RECOMMENDS:
- Regularly check the company’s list of affected flights to know if you have been exposed.
- If you notice an exposure event, see or call a manager and ask to be walked through the decision tree questions to understand the degree of exposure.
- If a manager cannot or will not assess your exposure, please record the name of the manager, time of the conversation, flight numbers concerned and notify the Union. We also strongly recommend documenting this with a health and safety complaint e-report (copy/paste).
- File a workplace injury/illness e-report if you have reason to believe you may have contracted COVID-19 in the workplace.
- DO NOT COME TO WORK IF YOU FEEL ILL.
- Take advantage of at-home rapid testing (ML), and PCR testing at company clinics. Remember that a negative test result only means you were in the clear at the time of testing. The company assured us that they would be providing all the necessary tools for you to effectively self-monitor. Should testing kits not be available at the Communication Centre at your respective bases (ML), please file a health and safety complaint and let the union know.
The Union remains hopeful that we have experienced the worst of this pandemic. But we remain alarmed and profoundly disappointed in the company’s leadership and their rush to repeal important layers of protection that have underpinned our remarkable recovery.
In Solidarity,
